topic: Ocean Acidification

topic: Ocean Acidification

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‘Our life support system is at risk’: Interview with ‘Her Deepness’ Sylvia Earle
- At the 9th Our Ocean Conference in Athens, Mongabay’s Elizabeth Claire Alberts interviewed oceanographer and marine biologist Sylvia Earle about the pressures facing our oceans, actions needed to turn things around, and how to find hope for the future.
- Earle has been a trailblazer in her career as a scientist, with more than 225 publications to her name, leading more than 100 expeditions, and breaking records as the first woman to venture into the deep ocean in a submersible and also to perform the deepest untethered sea walk.
- She’s currently president and chair of the NGO Mission Blue and an explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society.
- Now in her late 80s, she still spends most of her time traveling the world to inspire action to protect the ocean.

Is ocean iron fertilization back from the dead as a CO₂ removal tool?
- After a hiatus of more than 10 years, a new round of research into ocean iron fertilization is set to begin, with scientists saying the controversial geoengineering approach has the potential to remove “gigatons per year” of carbon dioxide from Earth’s atmosphere.
- The idea behind ocean iron fertilization is that dumping iron into parts of the ocean where it’s scarce could spark massive blooms of phytoplankton, which, when they die, can sink to the bottom of the sea, carrying the CO₂ absorbed during photosynthesis to be sequestered in the seabed for decades to millennia.
- So far, proof that this could work as a climate-change solution has remained elusive, while questions abound over its potential ecological impacts.
- Scientists with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, U.S., recently received $2 million in funding from the U.S. government that will enable computer modeling research that could pave the way for eventual in-ocean testing, effectively reviving research into ocean iron fertilization.

Video: Rio de Janeiro’s defender of mangroves
- Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro has suffered for decades from inefficient sewage treatment, oil spills and mangrove deforestation.
- For more than 30 years, biologist Mario Moscatelli has been fighting to reverse this process and revitalize the landscape.
- For denouncing corruption, environmental crimes and government inaction, he faced intimidation and even death threats.

The endless struggle to clean up Rio de Janeiro’s highly polluted Guanabara Bay
- Once a nursery for marine life, Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro is now dying from the dumping of thousands of liters of sewage into its waters; artisanal fishers now survive by picking up the garbage that floats in the bay.
- Faced with failed promises of de-pollution by the government, civil society organized itself, creating areas of environmental protection and pressuring the companies responsible for basic sanitation in the state, which is still deficient today.
- On the shores of the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon, a biologist started replanting the mangroves; life returned and the site has become a model of what can be done to save the Guanabara Bay.

Clean me a river: Southeast Asia chokes on Mekong plastic pollution
- New research shows that the drift of microplastics from the Mekong River to the coastlines of countries around the South China Sea depends on variable factors, including seasonal changes in winds and ocean currents.
- The Philippines is most exposed to plastic waste that mainly drifts from the Mekong River to the sea during the monsoon season, with 47% of the stranded particles ending up on its coast, followed by Indonesia at 24%, Vietnam at 17%, and Malaysia at 8%.
- Environmental advocates say the findings of this study underscore the importance of international cooperation in combating plastic pollution, which harms marine biodiversity and coastal economies.

Re-carbonizing the sea: Scientists to start testing a big ocean carbon idea
- Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) involves releasing certain minerals into the ocean, sparking a chemical reaction that enables the seawater to trap more CO₂ from the air and mitigating, albeit temporarily, ocean acidification.
- Some scientists believe OAE could be a vital tool for drawing down and securely storing some of the excess CO₂ humanity has added to the atmosphere that is now fueling climate change.
- Yet many questions about OAE remain, including most prominently how it would impact marine life and ecosystems.
- Several programs are aiming to spark the research needed to answer these questions, including field tests in the ocean.

Hunting for future-proof marine plants in the acidic waters bathing a volcano
- The naturally acidic seawater near an underwater volcano in Italy mimic pH levels that according to worst-case climate projections will be common by the end of the century and beyond.
- Scientists are studying local seagrass and seaweed responses to the acidic conditions.
- One question is whether they could be used for restoration purposes in other places that may become more acidic in a not-so-distant future.
- Even so, some researchers point out that these carbon-sequestering marine plants face more immediate challenges from pollution, habitat degradation and warming waters that need addressing for restoration to succeed.

Melting ice created the perfect storm for a rapidly acidifying Arctic Ocean
- The Arctic Ocean has grown more acidic at a surprising rate in recent years, three times faster than the rest of the global ocean.
- Melting sea ice has exposed the top level of the Arctic Ocean to air rich with carbon dioxide, creating a layer that sopped up carbon from the atmosphere.
- Increased acidity may hamper the ability of marine organisms to build their shells, causing ripple effects through the Arctic food web.

Arctic sea ice loss to increase strong El Niño events linked to extreme weather: Study
- The frequency of strong El Niño events could increase by 35% by the end of the century as Arctic sea ice begins to melt out completely in the summer, according to a recent modeling study. El Niños — buildups of especially warm water in the eastern Pacific off of Peru — often trigger ‘devastating’ droughts, floods and cyclones around the globe.
- The findings provide more evidence that Arctic warming is affecting weather in other parts of the world — not only in the mid-latitudes, but as far away as the tropics.
- Other recent studies have found that sea ice loss is causing rapid acidification of the Arctic Ocean and more extreme precipitation and flooding in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago located between mainland Norway and the North Pole.

‘One more thing’ about plastics: They could be acidifying the ocean, study says
- New research suggests that plastic could contribute to ocean acidification, especially in highly polluted coastal areas, through the release of organic chemical compounds and carbon dioxide, both of which can lower the pH of seawater.
- The study found that sunlight enabled this process and that older, degraded plastics released a higher amount of dissolved organic carbon and did more to lower the pH of seawater.
- However, the findings of this study were conducted in a laboratory, so it’s unclear whether experiments conducted in estuaries or the open ocean would yield similar results, experts said.

Acid test: Are the world’s oceans becoming too ‘acidic’ to support life?
- The world’s oceans absorb about a quarter of humanity’s carbon dioxide emissions, buffering us against higher atmospheric CO2 levels and greater climate change. But that absorption has led to a lowering of seawater pH and the acidification of the oceans.
- The process of ocean acidification is recognized as a leading threat to ocean life due to its impairment of calcifying organisms and other marine species. The full impacts of acidification are unknown, but at some point reduced pH could be disastrous biologically.
- Researchers have designated ocean acidification as one of nine planetary boundaries whose limits, if transgressed, could threaten civilization and life as we know it. But there is debate as to whether there is a global boundary for this process, since acidification impacts some regions and species more or less than others, making it hard to quantify.
- Scientists agree that the primary solution to ocean acidification is the lowering of carbon emissions, though some researchers are investigating other solutions, such as depositing alkaline rock minerals into oceans to lower the pH of seawater.

In Japanese waters, a newly described anemone lives on the back of a hermit crab
- A newly described anemone species has been found off the coast of Japan and appears to live exclusively on the shells of one hermit crab species.
- First-of-its-kind video recordings of the hermit crab and anemone duo show the hermit crab moving to a new shell and spending more than 40 hours poking, peeling and dragging the anemone to come along.
- Researchers believe the hermit crab and anemone are in an obligate symbiotic relationship, or that they need each other to survive.
- The anemone eats falling debris and protects the hermit crab from parasites and predators, and in turn, gets to hitch a ride to fresh feeding grounds.

‘The return of land to Indigenous people is key’: Q&A with Shinnecock Kelp Farm’s Tela Troge
- A group of women of the Shinnecock Nation manage the first Indigenous-owned kelp farm on the United States’ East Coast, and are ready to harvest this year’s first batch.
- The people of the Shinnecock Nation have lived on Shinnecock Bay, on the east end of Long Island, New York, since the end of the last Ice Age. But overdevelopment on unceded tribal land is leading to nitrogen pollution, which is killing marine life.
- The Shinnecock Kelp Farm is farming sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) in hopes that it will absorb some of the water’s excess nitrogen.
- Tela Troge, one of the six women running the Shinnecock Kelp Farm, met with Mongabay to talk about the future of this effort, and how farming kelp could help Shinnecock Nation regain sovereignty over waters they have tended for generations.

Efforts to dim Sun and cool Earth must be blocked, say scientists
- Scientists are calling on political institutions to place limits on solar geoengineering research so that it cannot be deployed unilaterally by countries, companies or individuals.
- Long-term planetary-level geoengineering interventions of this kind are unprecedented and extremely dangerous, say the academics behind the letter, and should not therefore be experimented with outdoors, receive patents, public funds or international support.
- Solar geoengineering’s leading proposal — injecting billions of aerosol particles into the Earth’s stratosphere — could have severe, unintended and unforeseen consequences. Modelling suggests that it may cause drying in the Amazon rainforest
- In addition, if solar geoengineering were deployed, it would need to be maintained for decades. Sudden discontinuance would result in Earth facing what scientists call termination shock, with a sudden temperature rise due to existing atmospheric carbon emissions which would have been masked by cooling stratospheric aerosols.

In hot water: Ocean warming hits another record high on climate change
- A new study has found that, for the sixth year in a row, the world’s oceans have been hotter than they’ve ever been in recent history due to human-induced climate change.
- The research team found that last year, the upper 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) in all oceans absorbed 14 zettajoules more of human-made energy than the previous year, equal to about 145 times the world’s electricity generation in 2020.
- A warming ocean creates a multitude of issues, driving extreme weather events, accelerating sea level rise, disrupting marine biodiversity, threatening global food security, and melting polar ice shelves.
- Experts say the best way to reduce ocean climate impacts is to lower carbon emissions and meet the Paris Agreement goal of not allowing global warming to surpass 1.5°C (2.7°F) over preindustrial levels.

Climate philanthropy’s opportunity for impact: Q&A with Bridgespan’s Sonali Patel
- Environmental causes have traditionally attracted only a small share of philanthropic support in the United States. But that may be changing as the impacts of climate change worsen and awareness of the links between a healthy planet and healthy society rises.
- Sonali Patel, a partner with The Bridgespan Group, which advises nonprofits and philanthropists on strategy, told Mongabay that philanthropy can be particularly impactful in the climate space by supporting innovative ideas that may be too risky for investors or governments and putting resources into areas that may not otherwise attract attention.
- “Currently only 1% of spend on climate change comes from philanthropy,” she told Mongabay during a recent interview. “Philanthropy can play a unique role in funding where either the risk is too great or there is a whitespace.”
- Patel said that her background in management consulting, helped prepare her for a role that involves working with organizational leaders to design, develop, and implement strategy. Having sound strategy in place can help position NGOs for what Patel could be the start of a trend that emerged during the pandemic: A rise in donors providing unrestricted funding to organizations they trust.

Podcast: Though humanity exceeds key ‘planetary boundaries’ there are many solutions
- On this episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we speak with two recent contributors to our “Covering the Commons” special reporting project who wrote pieces that deal with the concept of Planetary Boundaries and how we can build a more sustainable future.
- Claire Asher tells us about her recent article detailing the nine Planetary Boundaries, the four environmental limits we’ve already exceeded, and the chances 2021 offers us to make transformative change.
- Andrew Willner discusses his recent article on how a “New Age of Sail” might soon transform the international shipping industry, the sixth-largest source of carbon emissions in the world.

The nine boundaries humanity must respect to keep the planet habitable
- All life on Earth, and human civilization, are sustained by vital biogeochemical systems, which are in delicate balance. However, our species — due largely to rapid population growth and explosive consumption — is destabilizing these Earth processes, endangering the stability of the “safe operating space for humanity.”
- Scientists note nine planetary boundaries beyond which we can’t push Earth Systems without putting our societies at risk: climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean acidification, ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosol pollution, freshwater use, biogeochemical flows of nitrogen and phosphorus, land-system change, and release of novel chemicals.
- Humanity is already existing outside the safe operating space for at least four of the nine boundaries: climate change, biodiversity, land-system change, and biogeochemical flows (nitrogen and phosphorus imbalance). The best way to prevent overshoot, researchers say, is to revamp our energy and food systems.
- In 2021, three meetings offer chances to avoid planetary boundary overshoot: the Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Kunming, China; the U.N. Climate Summit (COP26) in Glasgow, U.K.; and the U.N. Food Systems Summit in Rome. Agreements with measurable, implementable, verifiable, timely and binding targets are vital, say advocates.

2020’s top ocean news stories (commentary)
- Marine scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara, share their list of the top 10 ocean news stories from 2020.
- Hopeful developments this year included some long-overdue attention to Black and other underrepresented groups in marine science; new technologies to prevent deadly ship-whale collisions and track “dark” vessels at sea remotely; and surprising discoveries in the deep sea.
- At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in more trash than ever being dumped in the sea, and stalled international negotiations aimed at protecting waters off Antarctica and in the high seas. 2020 also brought the first modern-day marine fish extinction.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

For sustainable business, ‘planetary boundaries’ define the new rules
- The Science Based Targets Network (SBTN), an initiative of the Global Commons Alliance (GCA), recently launched a corporate engagement program to help companies, consultancies and industry coalitions set science-based targets that could help protect all aspects of nature, including biodiversity, land, ocean, water, as well as climate.
- The SBTN uses the concept of planetary boundaries, which refers to nine Earth system processes that contain thresholds for safe operating limits, to inform its work.
- The SBTN is still in a formational stage and will not finalize its methodologies until 2022, but will actively engage with companies over the next two years.

They outlived dinosaurs, but can glass sponge reefs survive man-made warming?
- A new study has found that warming ocean waters and increased acidification could weaken the skeletal structure of Canada’s iconic glass sponge reefs.
- The potential loss of glass sponge reefs, which were thought to have gone extinct 40 million years ago, would imperil the regionwide and distinct ecosystem, including potentially hundreds of fish species.
- Researchers say the Canadian government must take climate change more seriously or risk losing an ecosystem found nowhere else.

Ocean deoxygenation could be silently killing coral reefs, scientists say
- A new perspective paper argues that ocean deoxygenation is the biggest threat to coral reef survival, perhaps even more so than warming sea temperatures and acidification.
- Oxygen in the world’s oceans has decreased by 2% since the middle of the last century, due largely to climate change, agricultural runoff and human waste.
- A growing body of work examines deoxygenation in the open ocean, but little research has been done on the effects of decreased oxygen on coastal coral reefs systems in tropical environments, and this paper begins filling that gap.
- The lead author and his colleagues are currently collecting data off the coast of Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef to understand the effects of deoxygenation on the surrounding reefs.

2019’s top 10 ocean news stories (commentary)
- Marine scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara, share their list of the top 10 ocean news stories from 2019.
- Hopeful developments included progress toward an international treaty to protect biodiversity on the high seas and a rebound in the western South Atlantic humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) to nearly its pre-whaling population size.
- Meanwhile, research documenting rapidly unfurling effects of climate change in the ocean painted a dire picture of the present and future ocean. These include accelerating sea level rise, more severe marine heatwaves and more frequent coral bleaching events.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Protecting living corals could help defend the Great Barrier Reef from ocean acidification for decades
- For the first time, researchers have studied the impact of ocean acidification on coral reefs with a device that allows them to increase levels of carbon dioxide on living coral for months at a time.
- Corals exposed to higher levels of carbon dioxide sustained more damage than those in aquarium experiments because fish, sponges, and other native organisms grazed on the fragile reefs.
- However, living corals were more resilient than scientists expected, providing a promising buffer against the impacts of climate change.

Small-scale women seaweed farmers ride the rough tides of climate change
- The decline in fish catches in Palawan has spurred an interesting shift in society as the community’s women, previously reliant on their husbands’ income, play a greater role as breadwinners.
- Men hold most of the jobs in fishing, but more than half of the seaweed farmers in the province are women.
- Despite the growing demand for seaweed and the increasing participation of women in the industry, warming sea temperatures attributed to climate change are threatening seaweed farming.

Ocean acidification could impact Atlantic cod populations more severely than previously thought
- A 2016 study determined that, at the ocean acidification levels expected by the end of the century if we do nothing to draw down CO2 emissions, twice as many cod larvae will die within their first 25 days, causing the number of cod who reach maturity and reproduce to drop by 8 and 24 percent for the Western Baltic and Barents Sea populations, respectively.
- Scientists hoped that those cod who managed to reach maturity might be helping the species adapt to the conditions brought on by global climate change. But new research appears to have dashed those hopes.
- The new study, which was published in the journal Global Change Biology last month, found that surviving cod larvae suffer significant organ damage and developmental delays that could cause problems throughout their lifetimes.

Ocean warming projected to accelerate more than four-fold over next 60 years: Study
- 2017 currently holds the record for hottest ocean temperatures, but, according to a new study, 2018 is likely to take the top spot as hottest year on record for Earth’s oceans as global warming’s impacts accelerate.
- The mean speed of ocean warming over the past 60 years, from roughly 1958 to 2017, was 5.46 zettajoules per year, according to the study. The oceans will warm at an even more rapid pace over the next 60 years, with the mean speed of ocean warming projected to be 23.78 zettajoules per year.
- If we proceed with “business as usual,” the upper ocean (above a depth of 2,000 meters) will warm by 2,020 ZetaJoules by 2081-2100, six times more than the total ocean warming recorded over the past 60 years, the researchers found. If we were to meet the emissions reductions targets that countries committed to under the Paris Climate Agreement, however, we could cut total ocean warming within that timeframe nearly in half to about 1,037 zettajoules.

2018’s top 10 ocean news stories (commentary)
- Marine scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara, share their list of the top 10 ocean news stories from 2018.
- Hopeful developments included international efforts to curb plastic pollution and negotiate an international treaty to protect the high seas.
- Meanwhile, research documenting unprecedented ocean warming, acidification, and oxygen decline spotlighted the real-time unfolding of climate change.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

High sea levels thousands of years ago aided island formation
- A recent study has found that high sea levels were critical to the formation of coral reef islands in the Indian Ocean thousands of years ago.
- The findings suggest that rising sea levels driven by climate change might not destroy all coral reef islands.
- However, the authors caution that the same higher-energy waves that help build these islands could also destroy the infrastructure on them that humans depend on.
- They also say that, for coral reef island formation to occur, the reef must be healthy to begin with — something that risks being negated by rising water acidity and temperature, both the result of climate change.

The Great Barrier Reef is losing its ability to bounce back from disturbances
- According to a study published in the journal Science Advances this month, the Great Barrier Reef is losing its ability to bounce back from disturbances like coral bleaching, crown of thorns starfish outbreaks, and cyclones.
- A team of researchers led by scientists at Australia’s University of Queensland (UQ) found that, during the 18-year period between 1992 to 2010, the coral recovery rate of reefs in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park declined by an average of 84 percent.
- This impaired recovery ability is likely due to the succession of acute disturbances the reef has experienced as well as the ongoing impacts of chronic pressures like poor water quality and climate change, researchers found. But the study’s authors also say that effective local management strategies could help restore the reef’s capacity to recover.

Fish find it harder to smell in acidic oceans, study finds
- Even tiny decreases in seawater pH (or increases in ocean acidity) are enough to weaken the European sea bass’s sense of smell, which it relies on to find food and mates and to evade predators, a new study has found.
- In waters containing high carbon dioxide levels predicted for the end of the century, the sea bass had to be on average up to 42 percent closer to the source of the smell in order to detect it, compared to when they were exposed to waters containing present-day levels of carbon dioxide.
- The researchers also found that in fish that were exposed to more acidic waters, the expression of genes for smell receptors in their nose was decreased.

Acidifying oceans a bad trip for marine ecosystems
- A new study is one of the few to investigate what ocean acidification might do to fish communities, by studying CO2-producing vents as proxies for elevated carbon environments.
- Researchers found that common fish benefited from acidified environments while rarer fish disappeared.
- The research has long-reaching implications for biodiversity and ecosystem functionality as the oceans acidify from absorbing the CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere.

Can marine reserves help counteract climate change?
- Even if the nations of the world manage to meet their most ambitious goal to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2100, elevated carbon dioxide levels will continue to stress and damage the oceans for the next half-century.
- A new paper contends that marine reserves protected from fishing and other human exploitation can reduce the damage from acidification, rising sea levels, storm intensification, and other effects of climate change.
- By sequestering and storing carbon, these protected areas can also benefit the whole planet, according to the paper.
- The Convention on Biological Diversity and Sustainable Development calls on coastal nations to protect 10 percent of their waters by 2020, but the authors argue that 30 percent may be required to effectively counter the effects of global climate change.

Economic impacts of climate change on global fisheries could be worse than we thought
- Previous research has shown that global warming will cause changes in ocean temperatures, sea ice extent, salinity, and oxygen levels, among other impacts, that are likely to lead to shifts in the distribution range and productivity of marine species, the study notes.
- In all, the UBC researchers found that global fisheries could lose approximately $10 billion in annual revenue by 2050 if climate change continues unchecked — a 10 percent decrease, which is 35 percent more than has been previously estimated.
- Countries that are most dependent on fisheries to feed their populations will experience the biggest impacts, according to the study.

Ecuador begins pumping oil from famed ITT-block in Yasuní
- The Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) block is centered in Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park.
- A failed plan in 2013 would have protected the block through a trust with funding from the international community.
- Ecuador has been drilling for oil inside Yasuni for decades and currently has four other oil production sites inside the national park.

Ocean warming is “greatest hidden challenge of our generation,” according to IUCN
- A report released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on Monday finds that the effects of global warming on oceans are not a concern for the future — fish, marine mammals, seabirds, and even humans are already being impacted by rising temperatures in oceanic waters.
- More than 93 percent of the global warming that has resulted from human activities since the 1970s was absorbed by Earth’s oceans, and data show a “sustained and accelerating upward trend in ocean warming,” according to the report.
- Entire groups of species such as plankton, fish, jellyfish, turtles and seabirds have been driven up to 10 degrees of latitude towards the Earth’s poles as they seek to keep within the environmental conditions to which they’re adapted.

Could kelp forests keep ocean acidification at bay?
- The ocean is absorbing some of the excess carbon dioxide humankind is emitting into the atmosphere. As a result, seawater is becoming more acidic, with profound repercussions for marine life across the food web.
- Scientists theorize that by sucking up carbon dioxide from seawater just like land plants do from the air, kelp forests could help provide local refuges against ocean acidification.
- A five-year project launching this winter aims to test this theory by planting a kelp forest in the waters of Washington’s Puget Sound and monitoring its effect on water chemistry.

Soil carbon could be key to protecting global biodiversity and climate at same time
- Worldwide, we’re spending less than a third of what it would take to protect global biodiversity and meet biodiversity targets adopted by the UN.
- Add to that the cost of meeting global emissions reduction targets, estimated to be anywhere from several hundred billion to several trillion dollars, and it’s clear that any way to do more with less is welcome indeed.
- Now researchers argue that, in addition to helping the world reduce emissions, soil carbon can also help determine exactly where wildlife and natural habitat conservation funds would be most effectively deployed.

2015’s top 10 developments for the ocean
- 2015 brought significant developments for the world’s oceans, some of them hopeful, some of them challenging.
- Below are the top 10 developments as chosen by University of California, Santa Barbara marine scientist Douglas McCauley.
- Among the highlights are massive new marine protected areas and the world’s first genetically modified animal deemed fit for human consumption — a salmon.

Scientists say frozen methane deposits off the coast of the US Pacific Northwest might be melting
- Researchers found methane plumes to be significantly more common at a critical depth where it was projected frozen deposits would start to melt due to rising ocean temperatures.
- Current environmental issues in Washington and Oregon that are already impacting local wildlife and fisheries could be exacerbated by the release of more methane.
- Methane is a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than CO2, but much of the methane in the plumes is consumed by marine microbes that turn it into CO2, contributing to ocean acidification.

Good news! Some corals show surprising resilience to ocean acidification
- Increased ocean acidity does not slow down growth of the yellow finger corals around Heron Island, researchers have found.
- This adaptation is most likely a response to the extreme, but natural, fluctuations in temperature and pH that commonly occur in seawater around Heron Island, the authors write.
- This finding is a “step closer to help us understand how corals will cope in future oceans where pH is likely to drop due to human induced rising carbon dioxide levels,” researchers say.

Arctic Ocean acidifies, threatening food web and major fisheries

Scientists collected water samples to measure ocean acidification in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas on two research cruises aboard the US Coast Guard cutter Healy. Photo credit: Jeremy Mathis / NOAA. One byproduct of rising carbon-dioxide levels is increasing ocean acidity — a phenomenon that scientists have termed an existential threat to marine life. […]
Chemical clues in fossil shells may help us understand today’s ocean acidification

As atmospheric CO2 levels rise, so too do those in the sea, leading to ocean acidification that outpaces that of any other time in tens of millions of years. Some effects of ocean acidification are imminent, like the fact that calcified organisms such as corals and shellfish will have access to less and less of […]
Fishing industry could lose up to $41 billion due to climate change

Sorting fish on an Malaysian fishing boat. Photo by Rhett A. Butler / mongabay.com Climate change is already having a severe impact on the atmosphere and oceans around the world. These changes are also impacting specific economic sectors including the fishing and aquaculture industries. According to a recent report by the European Climate Foundation, the […]
Empty seas? Scientists warn of an industrialized ocean

If nothing done, extinction levels in the ocean could soon resemble those on land Bluefin tuna. Although most bluefin tuna species have been decimated by overfishing, they are still caught. Photo by: Stewart Butterfield. This is obvious, but still important: humans are not a marine species. Even as we have colonized most of our planet’s […]
‘We are running out of time’: CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere surprise scientists

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere made the biggest jump last year since 1984, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, raising alarm bells about society’s inaction on curbing global warming. “Far from falling, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere actually increased last year at the fastest rate […]
Extreme cold and drought in U.S. linked to climate change

The U.S. Midwest and Northeast experienced one of the coldest, snowiest winters on record this past season. This might seem contrary to warming trends forecast by climate scientists, but a new analysis released this week in Science points out that climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions may actually have contributed to the well-below average […]
Underwater horrors: shells of marine life melting off the coast of the U.S.

It could be the plot of a horror movie: humans wake up one day to discover that chemical changes in the atmosphere are dissolving away parts of their bodies. But for small marine life known as sea butterflies, or pteropods, this is what’s happening off the West Cost of the U.S. Increased carbon in the […]
Apocalypse now? Climate change already damaging agriculture, acidifying seas, and worsening extreme weather

It’s not just melting glaciers and bizarrely-early Springs anymore; climate change is impacting every facet of human civilization from our ability to grow enough crops to our ability to get along with each other, according to a new 2,300-page report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The massive report, from the Nobel Prize-winning […]
Corals thriving despite acidified conditions in remote Pacific bay

Palau’s Rock Islands. Courtesy of Google Earth. Scientists have discovered a small island bay in the Pacific which could serve as a peephole into the future of the ocean. Palau’s Rock Island Bay harbors a naturally occurring anomaly – its water is acidified as much as scientists expect the entire ocean to be by 2100 […]
Ocean acidifying 10 times faster than anytime in the last 55 million years, putting polar ecosystems at risk

An assessment of ocean acidification, presented at the UN Climate Change Conference in Warsaw in November 2013, starkly concluded that acidity is on track to rise 170 percent by the end of this century. As many key species are sensitive to changes in acidity, this would drastically impact ocean ecosystems, with effects especially pronounced in […]
Global warming could upset Antarctic food chain

Resting near the bottom of the food chain, Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) underpin much of the Southern Ocean’s ecosystem. But in a rapidly warming world, these hugely-abundant crustaceans could see their habitat shrink considerably. In a recent paper in PLOS ONE, scientists predict that Antarctic krill could lose 20 percent of their growth habitat, or […]
Governments should respond to ocean acidification ‘as urgently as they do to national security threats’

The oceans are more acidic now than they have been for at least 300m years, due to carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels, and a mass extinction of key species may already be almost inevitable as a result, leading marine scientists warned on Thursday. An international audit of the health of the oceans has […]
Bad feedback: ocean acidification to worsen global warming

As if ocean acidification and climate change weren’t troubling enough (both of which are caused by still-rising carbon emissions), new research published in Nature finds that ocean acidification will eventually exacerbate global warming, further raising the Earth’s temperature. Scientists have long known that tiny marine organisms—phytoplankton—are central to cooling the world by emitting an organic […]
Google Earth presents fish-eye view of coral reefs

You can now visit up-close and personal some of the world’s most imperiled ecosystems on Google Earth: coral reefs. The Google team is working with scientists to provide 360 degree panoramas, similar to Google street-view, to give armchair ecologists a chance to experience the most biodiverse ecosystems under the waves. “Only 1% of humanity has […]
Ocean acidification pushing young oysters into ‘death race’

Scientists have long known that ocean acidification is leading to a decline in Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) in the U.S.’s Pacific Northwest region, but a new study in the American Geophysical Union shows exactly how the change is undercutting populations of these economically-important molluscs. Caused by carbon dioxide emissions, ocean acidification changes the very chemistry […]
Pacific islanders are the ‘victims of industrial countries unable to control their carbon dioxide emissions’

With islands and atolls scattered across the ocean, the small Pacific island states are among those most exposed to the effects of global warming: increasing acidity and rising sea level, more frequent natural disasters and damage to coral reefs. These micro-states, home to about 10 million people, are already paying for the environmental irresponsibility of […]
Animals dissolving due to carbon emissions

Marine snails, known as Limacina helicina antarctica, are seeing their shells dissolve due to carbon emissions. Photo by: Nina Bednarsek. Marine snails, also known as sea butterflies, are dissolving in the Southern Seas due to anthropogenic carbon emissions, according to a new study in Nature GeoScience. Scientists have discovered that the snail’s shells are being […]
World Bank: 4 degrees Celsius warming would be miserable

Hurricane Sandy on October 25th in the Caribbean. Scientists say that climate change may have intensified Hurricane Sandy with its impact worsened by rising sea levels and increased evaporation from hotter marine waters. Recent studies predict that worsening climate change will bring more intense hurricanes. Photo by: NASA. A new report by the World Bank […]
Threatened Galapagos coral may predict the future of reefs worldwide

Coral surveying in a cloud of fish. Photo by: Joshua Feingold. The Galapagos Islands have been famous for a century and a half, but even Charles Darwin thought the archipelago’s list of living wonders didn’t include coral reefs. It took until the 1970s before scientists realized the islands did in fact have coral, but in […]
Coral calcification rates fall 44% on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

Calcification rates by reef-building coral communities on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef have slowed by nearly half over the past 40 years, a sign that the world’s coral reefs are facing a grave range of threats, reports a new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences. The international team of researchers, led by […]
Earth’s ecosystems still soaking up half of human carbon emissions

Coral reefs off Maui. The extra carbon sequestered by the oceans has put the world’s coral reefs at risk due to acidification. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Even as humans emit ever more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, Earth’s ecosystems are still sequestering about half, according to new research in Nature. The study finds that […]
2,600 scientists: climate change killing the world’s coral reefs

Purple coral off the coast of Maui, Hawaii. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. In an unprecedented show of concern, 2,600 (and rising) of the world’s top marine scientists have released a Consensus Statement on Climate Change and Coral Reefs that raises alarm bells about the state of the world’s reefs as they are pummeled by […]
World failing to meet promises on the oceans

Industrial tuna fishing has pushed some species to the edge of extinction. Photo by: Alex Hoffard/Greenpeace. Despite a slew of past pledges and agreements, the world’s governments have made little to no progress on improving management and conservation in the oceans, according to a new paper in Science. The paper is released just as the […]
Featured video: Google Earth highlights imperiled coral reefs around the world
A new video by Google Earth and the World Resources Institute (WRI) highlights the world’s many endangered coral reefs. A part of the WRI’s Reefs at Risk program, the video highlights regional and global threats to the oceans’ most biodiverse ecosystem. According to the WRI, a stunning 75 percent of the world’s reefs are currently […]
Carbon emissions paving way for mass extinction in oceans

Ocean acidification growing at a rate faster than anytime in 300 million years. To the left a discoaster of marine plankton before an ocean acidification event 56 million years ago, and to the right its counterpart corroded by ocean acidification event. Image taken with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Human emissions of carbon dioxide may […]
Acid oceans: in some regions acidification a ‘hundred times greater’ than natural variation

Emissions of carbon over the last two centuries have raised the acidity of the oceans to the highest levels in 21,000 years and likely beyond, according to a new study in Nature Climate Change. The change threatens a number of marine species, including coral reefs and molluscs. The oceans play a massive role in the […]
11 challenges facing 7 billion super-consumers

The Turkana tribe of northern Kenya are buffeted by constant drought and food insecurity, which recent research says may be worsening due to climate change. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Perhaps the most disconcerting thing about Halloween this year is not the ghouls and goblins taking to the streets, but a baby born somewhere in […]
Ocean prognosis: mass extinction

A new report finds that the oceans are facing a mass extinction. One day many of the world’s marine species may only be found in aquariums, if at all, such as this green sea anemone in the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Multiple and converging human impacts on the world’s oceans are […]
Ocean acidification dissolves algae, deafens fish

As if being a major contributor to global warming wasn’t enough, the increasing amount of carbon dioxide produced through human activity is also acidifying our oceans – and doing so more rapidly than at any other time in more than half a million years. New projections show that at current rates of acidification, clownfish and […]
Coral crisis: 75% of the world’s coral reefs in danger

Marine scientists have been warning for years that coral reefs, the most biodiverse ecosystems in the ocean, are facing grave peril. But a new comprehensive analysis by the World Resources Institute (WRI) along with twenty-five partners ups the ante, finding that 75% of the world’s coral reefs are threatened by local and global impacts, including […]
The ocean crisis: hope in troubled waters, an interview with Carl Safina

The view from Lazy Point. Photo courtesy of Carl Safina. Being compared—by more than one reviewer—to Henry Thoreau and Rachel Carson would make any nature writer’s day. But add in effusive reviews that compare one to a jazz musician, Ernest Hemingway, and Charles Darwin, and you have a sense of the praise heaped on Carl […]
Photos: Scientists race to protect world’s most endangered corals

As corals around the world disappear at alarming rates, scientists are racing to protect the ones they can. At a workshop led by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the world’s foremost coral experts met in response to a decade of unprecedented reef destruction to identify and develop conservation plans for the ten most critically […]
Beyond gloom: solutions to the global coral reef decline

The world’s coral reefs are in trouble. Due to a variety of factors—including ocean acidification, warming temperatures from climate change, overfishing, and pollution—coral cover has decline by approximately 125,000 square kilometers in the past 50 or so years. This has caused some marine biologists, like Charlie Veron, Former Chief Scientist of the Australian Institute of […]
Carbon emissions hurting coral recruitment

While research has shown that ocean acidification from rising CO2 levels in the ocean imperils the growth and survival mature coral reefs, a new study has found that it may also negatively impact burgeoning corals, by significantly lowering the success of coral recruitment. A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) […]
World needs to protect 32 million square kilometers of ocean in two years

According to goals set in 2002 by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development, nations must spend the next two years catching-up on creating ocean reserve. Currently, about 1.17 percent of the ocean is under some form of protection, but the 2002 goal was 10 percent by 2012. That […]
Majority of Americans confused on climate change basics

Most Americans don’t understand the basics of climate change, according to a new poll by researchers with Yale. The poll found that over half of Americans deserve an ‘F’ on basic understanding of climate science and climate change, while only 1% would receive an ‘A’. While 63% of Americans say that the globe is warming, […]
Coral reef survival depends on the super small, an interview with Forest Rohwer

If you take a teaspoon and dip it into the ocean what will you have? Some drops of lifeless water? Only a few decades ago this is what scientists would have said, however, the development of increasingly powerful microscopes have shown us a world long unknown, which has vital importance for the survival of one […]
Backbone of marine food chain in alarming decline

Tiny marine algae, known as phytoplankton, are the backbone of the marine food chain, yet a new study in Nature has found that this backbone is disintegrating. Researchers discovered that since 1950 phytoplankton has declined by approximately 40 percent across the Northern Hemisphere, a decline that corresponds to warming waters due to climate change. Given […]
Coral reefs doomed by climate change

The world’s coral reefs are in great danger from dual threats of rising temperatures and ocean acidification, Charlie Veron, Former Chief Scientist of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, told scientists attending the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation meeting in Sanur, Bali. Tracing the geological history of coral reefs over hundreds of millions of […]
Amazing reefs: how corals ‘hear’, an interview with Steve Simpson

Steve Simpson, Senior Researcher at the University of Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences, spoke with Laurel Neme on her “The WildLife” radio show and podcast about ocean sounds and how reef fish and corals use these cues to find their way home. This interview originally aired June 28, 2010. The interview was transcribed by Ed […]
In the midst of marine collapse will we save our last ocean?

An interview with David Ainley. Imagine an ocean untouched by oil spills: a sea free of pollution, invasive species, dead zones, and over-exploitation; waters where marine animals exist in natural abundance and play ecological roles undimmed by mankind. Such a place may sound impossible in today’s largely depleted oceans, but it exists: only discovered in […]
World failing on every environmental issue: an op-ed for Earth Day

The biodiversity crisis, the climate crisis, the deforestation crisis: we are living in an age when environmental issues have moved from regional problems to global ones. A generation or two before ours and one might speak of saving the beauty of Northern California; conserving a single species—say the white rhino—from extinction; or preserving an ecological […]
If protected coral reefs can recover from global warming damage

A study in the Caribbean has found that coral reefs can recover from global warming impacts, such as coral bleaching, if protected from fishing. Marine biologists have long been worried that coral reefs affected by climate change may be beyond recovery, however the new study published in PLoS ONE shows that alleviating another threat, overfishing, […]
Bottom-dwelling sea animals play surprising role in carbon sequestration

Researchers have long known that some marine animals, such as plankton, play big roles in the carbon cycle, but a new study shows that a long-ignored family of marine animals, the bottom-dwelling echinoderms, also do their part in the carbon cycle. Members of the echinoderms—sea stars, sea urchins, brittle starts, sea cucumbers, and sea lilies—capture […]
Climate change causing irreversible acidification in world’s oceans

A new study from the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity has synthesized over 300 reports on ocean acidification caused by climate change. The report finds that increasing acidification will lead to irreversible damage in the world’s oceans, creating a less biodiverse marine environment. Released today the report determines that the threat to marine […]
Photos: ten beloved species threatened by global warming

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has released a list of ten species that are likely to be among the hardest hit by climate change, including beloved species such as the leatherback sea turtle, the koala, the emperor penguin, the clownfish, and the beluga whale. The timing of the list coincides with […]
Not just the polar bear: ten American species that are feeling the heat from global warming

A new report, America’s Hottest Species, highlights a variety of American wildlife that are currently threatened by climate change from a small bird to a coral reef to the world’s largest marine turtle. “Global warming is like a bulldozer shoving species, already on the brink of extinction, perilously closer to the edge of existence,” said […]
Oceans’ ability to sequester carbon diminishing

A new study—the first of its kind—has completed an annual accounting of the oceans’ intake of carbon over the past 250 years, and the news is troubling. According to the study, published in Nature, the oceans’ ability to sequester carbon is struggling to keep-up with mankind’s ever-growing emissions. Since 2000 researchers estimate that while every […]
Declaration calls for more wilderness protected areas to combat global warming

Meeting this week in Merida, Mexico, the 9th World Wilderness Congress (WILD9) has released a declaration that calls for increasing wilderness protections in an effort to mitigate climate change. The declaration, which is signed by a number of influential organizations, argues that wilderness areas—both terrestrial and marine—act as carbon sinks, while preserving biodiversity and vital […]
Coral reef troubles indicate broader ecological problems

Today, many of our planet’s natural areas are seriously threatened by human incursion, overexploitation and global warming: Less than a fifth of the world’s original forest cover remains in unfragmented tracts, while just one-third of coastal mangroves survive to protect coastlines from storms and erosion. But none of these are declining as rapidly as coral […]
New report predicts dire consequences for every U.S. region from global warming

Sobering report is the most comprehensive to date. Government officials and scientists released a 196 page report detailing the impact of global warming on the U.S. yesterday. The study, commissioned in 2007 during the Bush Administration, found that every region of the U.S. faces large-scale consequences due to climate change, including higher temperatures, increased droughts, […]
Starfish may benefit from global warming

Climate change is expected to cause widespread disruptions to ecosystems and their resident species. Some creatures will go extinct, others will expand their ranges and thrive. A new study identifies starfish as one of the possible winners from rising ocean temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations. Rearing Pisaster ochraceus, a species of sea star, under varying […]
Shells thinning due to ocean acidification

Seven new species of deep sea coral discovered

Nemo at risk from CO2 emissions? Ocean acidification may hurt baby fish

Fish may help fight ocean acidification

Ocean acidification is killing the Great Barrier Reef

Climate change, ocean acidification may doom jumbo squid

Climate change, ocean acidification may doom jumbo squid Climate change may stop jumbo squid invasion mongabay.com December 15, 2008
Climate change will transform the chemical-makeup of the ocean

Climate change will transform the chemical-makeup of the ocean Climate change will transform the chemical-makeup of the ocean Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com December 11, 2008
Tropical ocean dead zones could increase 50 percent by 2050

Tropical ocean dead zones could increase 50 percent by 2050 Tropical ocean dead zones could increase 50 percent by 2050 Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com November 18, 2008
Group may sue EPA under Clean Water Act to address ocean acidification

Group may sue EPA under Clean Water Act to address ocean acidification Group may sue EPA under Clean Water Act to address ocean acidification mongabay.com November 14, 2008
Stopping ocean acidification would save billions of dollars in revenue

Rapid action to stop ocean acidification would save billions in lost revenue Stopping ocean acidification would save billions of dollars in revenue Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com November 12, 2008 Dwindling shellfish will not only lead to a lack of lobster on the menu, but also job losses and regional economic depressions.
Effects of ocean acidification will come 30 years earlier than expected

Effects of ocean acidification will come 30 years earlier than expected Effects of ocean acidification will come 30 years earlier than expected mongabay.com November 11, 2008
Geoengineering schemes need ranking system to avoid wasting money, destroying the planet

Geoengineering schemes need ranking system to avoid wasting money, destroying the planet Geoengineering schemes need ranking system to avoid wasting money, destroying the planet mongabay.com October 26, 2008 Schemes to alter Earth's climate on a planetary scale should be ranked according to their efficacy, cost, risks and rate of mitigation, argues a new editorial published […]
U.S. pledges $40M toward coral reef conservation.

U.S. pledges $40M toward coral reef conservation U.S. pledges $40M toward coral reef conservation mongabay.com October 23, 2008
‘Safe’ CO2 level may destroy the fishing industry, wreck reefs
‘Safe’ CO2 level may destroy the fishing industry, wreck reefs ‘Safe’ CO2 level may destroy the fishing industry, wreck reefs mongabay.com September 23, 2008
The long-ignored ocean emergency and what can be done to address it

This year has been full of bad news regarding marine ecosystems: one-third of coral species threatened with extinction, dead-zones spread to 415 sites, half of U.S. reefs in fair or bad condition, increase in ocean acidification, tuna and shark populations collapsing, and only four percent of ocean considered pristine. Jeremy Jackson, director of the Scripps […]
Ocean acidification may hurt reproduction in marine life
Ocean acidification may hurt reproduction in marine life Ocean acidification may hurt reproduction in marine life mongabay.com July 30, 2008 Ocean acidification due to rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere may be putting the reproductive capabilities of some marine species at risk, reports a new study published in Current Biology by Swedish and Australian […]
Climate change will increase the erosion of coral reefs

More bad news for coral reefs: climate change will increase chance of erosion Climate change will increase the erosion of coral reefs Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com July 28, 2008 Coral reefs are particularly susceptible to climate change. Warming waters have been shown to bleach coral, killing off symbiotic algae that provide them with sustenance, and often […]
1/3 of corals face extinction

1/3 of corals face extinction 1/3 of corals face extinction mongabay.com July 10, 2008 Nearly one-third of reef-building corals are vulnerable to extinction, according to an assessment of 845 species of coral. Rising temperatures, increased incidence of disease, and human disturbance are driving the trend. Assessing the conservation status of corals from around the world […]
U.S. coral reefs in trouble

U.S. coral reefs in trouble U.S. coral reefs in trouble mongabay.com July 7, 2008 Related: 1/3 of corals face extinction Nearly half of U.S. coral reefs are in “poor” or “fair” condition according to a new study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The report, The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the […]
Good news for reefs: giant coral structure found off Brazil

Rare good news for besieged corals: giant reef found off Brazil Good news for reefs: giant coral structure found off Brazil mongabay.com July 8, 2008 Amid a series of dire reports on the status of coral reefs, scientists announced the discovery of a reef off the southern coast of Brazil’s Bahia state that doubles the […]
CO2 emissions could doom fishing industry

CO2 emissions could doom fishing industry CO2 emissions could doom fishing industry mongabay.com July 3, 2008 Aside from warming climate, rising carbon dioxide emissions are contributing to ocean acidification, threatening sea live, warn researchers writing in the journal Science. This trend makes it all the more important to reduce emissions, argue the authors. The oceans […]
Ocean acidification worse than expected, threatens sea life

Ocean acidification worse than expected, threatens sea life Ocean acidification worse than expected, threatens sea life mongabay.com May 22, 2008 Increasing ocean acidification along the continental shelf of North America will likely have negative impacts on marine ecosystems, including the corrosion of calcium carbonate exoskeletons in many organisms, warn researchers writing in the journal Science. […]
Photos of bizarre creatures discovered in Antarctica

Photos of bizarre species discovered in Antarctica Photos of bizarre creatures discovered in Antarctica mongabay.com February 19, 2008 The stalked structures looking like glass tulips are actually animals known as tunicates. They are early colonizers of areas recently disturbed by ice-berg scouring. They filter food particles from the water by pumping it through an internal […]
Why are oceans at risk from global warming?

Why are oceans at risk from global warming? Why are oceans at risk from global warming? mongabay.com February 17, 2008 Climate change is putting the world’s oceans at risk by increasing the temperature and acidity of seawater, and altering atmospheric and oceanic circulation, warned a panel of scientists this week at the American Association for […]
How will global warming affect marine food chains?

How will global warming affect marine food chains? How will global warming affect marine food chains? mongabay.com February 17, 2008 Rising temperatures and acidity of the world’s oceans due to human emissions of carbon dioxide is putting marine food webs at risk warned a researcher speaking at a press briefing at the annual meeting of […]
Scientists suggest new geological epoch: ours

Scientists suggest new geological epoch: ours Scientists suggest new geological epoch: ours Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com January 30, 2008 It would be called the Anthropocene. The word was coined by chemist and Nobel Prize winner Paul Crutzen at a conference in 2000. It denotes a new geological epoch, beginning about 200 years ago at the time […]
Global warming will degrade 98% of coral reefs by 2050

Global warming will degrade 98% of coral reefs by 2050 Global warming will degrade 98% of coral reefs by 2050 mongabay.com December 13, 2007 Ocean acidification caused by human-induced carbon dioxide emissions could dramatically alter the planet’s coral reefs and marine food chains, warns research published in the December 14 issue of Science and presented […]
Ocean CO2 collector could fight global warming and ocean acidification

Ocean CO2 collector could fight global warming and ocean acification Ocean CO2 collector could fight global warming and ocean acification mongabay.com November 20, 2007 Researchers have proposed a geoengineering solution to global warming that involves building a series of water treatment plants that enhance the ability of the ocean to absorb carbon dioxide from the […]
Global warming is melting soft corals

Global warming is melting soft corals Global warming is melting soft corals mongabay.com November 13, 2007 Soft corals are “simply melting and wasting away” due to global warming-induced environmental stress says Dr. Hudi Benayahu, head of Tel Aviv University’s Porter School of Environmental Studies. Unlike conventional corals, soft corals have no calcified outer skeleton to […]
CO2 emissions cause ocean acidification, threaten sea life

CO2 emissions cause ocean acidification, threaten sea life CO2 emissions cause ocean acidification, threaten sea life mongabay.com September 21, 2007 Human-induced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions could alter ocean chemistry to the point where it will violate U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Quality Criteria by mid-century if emissions are not significantly reduce, reports a team of scientists […]
Environmentalists may use Endangered Species Act to pressure gov’t on global warming

Environmentalists may use Endangered Species Act to pressure gov’t on global warming Environmentalists may use Endangered Species Act to pressure gov’t on global warming mongabay.com September 7, 2007 The addition of elkhorn and staghorn corals to the Endangered Species Act due to threats from climbing ocean temperatures, may be environmentalists’ best weapon for levering the […]
Industrial pollution acidifies ocean, threatens marine animals

Industrial pollution worsens ocean acidification, threatens marine animals Industrial pollution acidifies ocean, threatens marine animals mongabay.com September 3, 2007 Ocean acidification, already a concern due to rising levels of carbon dioxide, is worsening due to nitric acid and sulfuric acid from industry, report researchers writing in this week’s issue of the journal Proceedings of the […]
Ocean acidification monitoring system launched

Ocean acidification monitoring system launched Ocean acidification monitoring system launched mongabay.com June 13, 2007 The first buoy to monitor ocean acidification has been launched in the Gulf of Alaska reports the National Science Foundation (NSF). Scientists hope the instrument, which will transmit data via satellite, will help examine how ocean circulation and ecosystems interact to […]
Coral diseases largely result from human activities

Coral diseases largely result from human activities Coral diseases largely result from human activities mongabay.com May 17, 2007 The apparent increase in infectious disease among coral is likely the result of environmental change and, as such, researchers should focus on understanding the relationship between coral diseases and environmental changes, rather than the diseases themselves, argues […]
Some corals may survive acidification caused by rising CO2 levels

Some corals may survive acidification caused by rising CO2 Some corals may survive acidification caused by rising CO2 levels mongabay.com March 29, 2007 Several studies have shown that increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are acidifying the world’s oceans. This is significant for coral reefs because acidification strips carbonate ions from seawater, making it more difficult […]
Carbon dioxide levels threaten oceans regardless of global warming

Carbon dioxide levels threaten oceans regardless of global warming Carbon dioxide levels threaten oceans regardless of global warming Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com March 8, 2007 Rising levels of carbon dioxide will have wide-ranging impacts on the world’s oceans regardless of climate change, reports a study published in the March 9, 2007, issue of the journal […]
Some corals can adapt to ocean acidification

Some corals can adapt to ocean acidification Some corals can adapt to ocean acidification mongabay.com July 6, 2006 But the research provides further evidence that corals are extremely sensitive to rapid environmental change and will be negatively affected by increased carbon dioxide levels in the short-term While scientists warn that increasing ocean acidity will doom […]
Increasingly acidic oceans damaging to marine life

Increasingly acidic oceans harm marine life Increasingly acidic oceans harm marine life mongabay.com July 5, 2006 More bad news for the world’s sea creatures Carbon dioxide emissions are altering ocean chemistry and putting sea life at risk according to a new report released today. The report, “Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Coral Reefs and Other […]
Pacific Ocean getting warmer and more acidic

Pacific Ocean getting warmer and more acidic Pacific Ocean getting warmer and more acidic Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com March 31, 2006 The Pacific Ocean is getting warmer and more acidic, while the amount of oxygen is decreasing, due to increased absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide say scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific […]

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